Monday, January 11, 2016

Mae West: Minor Misfortunes

During this cold wintertime, we are months away from the merry month of May but let's think about how many other people wanted access to the name of MAE WEST.           
• • "Mae West" — — A Much Sought After Name • •
• • Being a film celebrity entails a number of minor misfortunes. Among them is the avidity with which the public names anything and everything after the personage.
• • Mae West, being one of the screen's leading luminaries, and something of a national sensation, has been deluged with requests for the use of her name. Occasionally she has been agreeable, but for the most part she has declined with thanks. Frequently she can do nothing about it. Not long ago an enterprising captain named his ferry boat after the curvacious Mae. A particular sail aboard Harold Vanderbilt's Rainbow, successful defender of the American Cup was called the "Mae West jib." Mae has consistently rejected all attempts by owners to name thoroughbred racehorses after her, explaining that in the long history of the turf there have been few, if any, successful horses named for anyone. "And," she said, "I don't care about seeing my name at the bottom of a form chart." A negro couple recently named one half of a pair of twins after Mae.
• • A group of Canadians, hopeful of forming a hill-billy quartet, requested permission to call themselves the "Mae West Rangers." There have been the Mae West sandwiches, ice cream sodas, hamburger stands and what-not. Whenever Mae hears about these, the studio's legal department is asked to take proper steps.
• • Numerous manufacturers have wanted to name hats, dresses, dolls, toys, underwear and even corsets after the blonde star.
• • An ambitious aviator had an idea  of a new type of trip around the world. He planned to fly exactly around the equator, and desired to call his ship the "Mae West." All he asked was . . .
• • To be continued tomorrow.
• • Source:  Albany Advertiser (Australia); published on Thursday, 4 July 1935.
• • On Saturday, 11 January 1919 • •
• • The iconic publication Judge featured three hot topics in their weekend issue dated 11 January 1919 — — vaudevillian Mae West, the illustrator John Held Jr, and the Armistice.  Judge Magazine's editorial office at that time was 225 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
• • On Thursday, 11 January 1996 • •
• • Under review in The Washington Post was a new release: "When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment" — — a biographical book written by Marybeth Hamilton [NY: HarperCollins, 307 pages].
• • On Friday, 11 January 2002 • •
• • Eleven years ago, WENN reported on Friday, 11 January 2002 that racy "Sex and the City" actress Kim Cattrall is set for a steamy new role — — as legendary screen siren Mae West. Kim Cattrall has been approached to play the starlet in a big-budget biopic, as well as receiving offers to feature in a remake of one of actress and comedienne West's movies."
• • Since this is rather old news, it seems that nothing came of it, alas and alack.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The explanation that the generation gap meant she wouldn't be playing the role didn't weigh with Mae West.  When she learned that Myra was actually a sex-changed character who, before an operation, was a 'man named Myron Breckinridge,' she was no longer interested in it.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "It was in old Public School 123. What I mean is: I was coming to the conclusion that boys made much better playmates than girls."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A book on World War 2 mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West — — An inflatable lifejacket, issued to the Services in the Second World War and was known technically as a “Mae West” — — The Listener (11 January 1940).
• • Source: Item in the book "Don't You Know There's A War On? Words and Phrases from the World Wars" by Nigel Rees; published in 2014
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3352nd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.


• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________

Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlAdd to Google

• • Photo:
• • Mae West • in 1941

• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
  Mae West

No comments:

Post a Comment